Alex Wittenberg loves a good cup of coffee. So much so, he envisions a world where Cleveland’s coffee shop patrons share their love by buying their neighbor—whether it’s a friend, the next guy in line, or even an unknown stranger—a cup of joe. To that end, Wittenberg, along with co-founders Sebastian Thimmig, Adam Fishburn, and Edward Liu, have created CoffeeQ, an online app that allows users to do just that.

Following in the footsteps of FirstEnergy Stadium, the Cleveland Indians, and JACK Cleveland Casino, the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland has implemented a large-scale food waste recycling system known as Grind2Energy—becoming the first and only convention center in the country to do so.

Now entering its second year of operations, Bloom Bakery is looking to take things to the next level—adding wholesale and corporate catering to the business. To help raise the $25,000 necessary to kickstart their goals, Bloom Bakery is currently running a 40-day "Sweet Treats and Second Chances" crowdfunding campaign on Crowdrise. And that's where the pastry lovers of The Land come in: an anonymous donor has donated $1,000 and promised another $1,000 if it can be matched by the end of this week. Click here to help Bloom Bakery expand and continue to create job opportunities through Towards Employment.

For the first time in Cleveland, two local female chefs have been named semifinalists for the James Beard Awards. Chef Karen Small, owner of The Flying Fig, and chef Jill Vedaa, co-owner of Salt, are two of 20 chefs in the Great Lakes division, having made it to the semifinals from 20,000 entries in 21 categories. Read more about how Vedaa and Small attained this culinary honor here.

In coastal big cities like New York and Los Angeles, poke places can be found on almost every block, but here in Cleveland, notsomuch. That’s about to change, starting with 2nd and High Poke House + Bar—the new incarnation of downtown's 2^nd and High Social House.

For the first time, the city and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank have come together in a collaborative effort to get fresh produce to the seniors living in AsiaTown. On the first Wednesday of each month, the Food Bank comes out to Sterling Recreation Center for a Senior Produce Market. Find out when the next distribution is—and how to volunteer—here.

While Matt and Trevor Gile and their father, Chuck, may have gone into the auto repair business three years ago with Cleveland Heights-based Motorcars Collision, the family has dreamt about donuts for at least seven years. Now the trio is realizing their dream with the opening of Daylight Donuts and Coffee (3077 Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights) along with their newly-relocated Motorcars Collision.

Quicken Loans Arena (aka “The Q”) isn’t just launching the next generation of pro basketball stars—it’s turning out culinary power players as well. Today, the arena’s Launch Test Kitchen announced its newest lineup of local chefs, all three of whom come from minority-owned businesses.

When partners Jeff King and Brad Poe open the Kensington Pub in Cleveland Heights this spring, they promise to have something for everyone at the bar that has been known for decades as Tavern Company. See what's in store here.

When EDWINS founder Brandon Chrostowski told documentarian Thomas Lennon that he was "opening the greatest French restaurant in the country, in Cleveland,’” that alone was enough to pique Lennon’s interest—but then Chrostowski told him the restaurant would be staffed entirely by people just out of prison. “I knew in 10 seconds there was a film,” says Lennon.

Trey Kirchoff has a nose for good coffee and he seeks to spread his love of a good roast with the rest of Cleveland. This spring, Kirchoff will partner with Mason Adkins and Berto Huertas of Sixth City Cycles to open Coffee, Coffee, Coffee—a combination coffee shop and bike shop in Old Brooklyn. The new shop will open in the former Familyography space at 4193 Pearl Road.

Read more about this unique blend of coffee and bikes here.

When gift-giving, why settle on a fruitcake when you can have a Bloom Bakery delight? The artisanal café-slash-social venture is hosting a Holiday Shop replete with assorted cookies, dinner rolls, and apple pies, plus seasonal items like pumpkin roll and pumpkin bread—as well as a showstopper that Executive Director Jill Rizika calls "to-die-for deep, deep chocolate brownies."

"We really hope instead of giving a gift certificate or a candle as corporate gifts, that [people] might think about ordering through Bloom and get the double whammy of getting a treat while also supporting a second chance," says Rizika.

Tonya Kinlow and her husband, chef Craig Stevens, never intended to start an app or a mindful eating movement—they just wanted to open a restaurant. But as they got deeper into the planning process, their values pointed them in an entirely different direction. The result is UGottaEat, an app that acts as a social network where users can share home-cooked meals and obtain freshly made meals from local chefs. Learn more about how this innovative app works here.

From making pilgrimages to the A Christmas Story House to downing 30,000 barrels of Great Lakes Christmas Ale, Clevelanders take holiday celebrations very seriously. This year offers a significant addition for The Land’s yuletide revelers: a bar dedicated entirely, for just over a month, to Christmas cheer.

One wouldn't guess by its industrial past, but Cleveland has surprising ties to the roots of urban farming in America—and they're on full display at these local farms, which were spotlighted recently at the global Meeting of the Minds conference. See why Chateau Hough, Green City Growers, Rid-All Green Partnership, and Ohio City Farm are now serving as a blueprint for MOTM experts to apply in their own cities.

Last week, Cleveland Whiskey entered a new product category with the launch of its new Smoker Bricx grilling chips. Watch this video to learn more about their smokin' new offering, then click here to read more about the method behind the madness.

This inspiring video from ideastream follows the Rust Belt Riders on their mission to transform Cleveland's considerable food waste into compost and animal feed.

The word "heretic" doesn't generally have a positive connotation, but Tom Lix embraces it with a fervor all his own. The Cleveland Whiskey founder and chairman proudly refers to himself an "Industry Heretic, Embracer of Change, and Disruptor of the Status Quo" in his Twitter bio—and he's got the goods to back the claim up.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...for foodies. Cleveland Restaurant Week kicks off today with more than 50 restaurants on board stretching as far as Sandusky, Twinsburg, and Akron, but mostly located in the 216.

Participating restaurants are offering three-course prix fixe menus for $33 (not including tax and gratuity). The name is a bit of a misnomer since the event actually goes on for two weeks (November 1-15), but all the better to try all six dishes on this list—and then some.

Founded by David "Dee Jay Doc" Harrill, Refresh Collective offers a plethora of programs designed to energize and empower local youth. The common thread? Hip-hop. Check out this video about Fresh Force, its workforce development program through which students learn design, screen printing, sales, and entrepreneurship via the Fresh Gear T-shirt line. (And don't miss our recent story about Freshtoberfest, where hip-hop meets horticulture.)